Birds of Barbados

I've recently returned from the tropical paradise of Barbados.

A little birdy visited us at breakfast every morning on our balcony.

Just as fun in a foreign-travel-is-cool sort of way was the AIDS prevention billboard we saw every time we took the reggae van into Bridgetown. As you can see in the picture below, the lovely model in cricket gear has got a bat in one hand and a condom in the other.

In case you didn't know, cricket is hugely popular on the island. So putting a cute bird in full cricket gear is a smart way for the Barbados HIV/AIDS Commission to get their message across. I was told by someone who knows the rules of cricket that if the ball is bowled and hits the striking batsman's (or woman's) wicket, the batsman "is given out," meaning that he or she is out of the game.

So ladies and gents, the message is clear: Use a condom to protect your wicket!

Sustainable Flatbush seeks support for PowerBike

Hey Brooklyn bloggers! Help Fellow blogger Sustainable Flatbush win a grant proposal they have submitted to build PowerBike, a mobile solar energy station. This is one of those online contest grants where displays of public support are VERY helpful in moving from the first round to the final one, where a public vote determines the winner(s).

"We at Sustainable Flatbush would really appreciate your checking out our PowerBike proposal and giving us a 'thumbs-up' in the form of a high rating and a lovely comment!," says SF. "And if you want to encourage your readers to do the same, well, we'd be eternally grateful. We'd happily provide some solar laptop/cellphone charging for future Blogades as well! But first we have to win."

Here's the blog post:

http://sustainableflatbush.org/2009/06/24/solar-powerbike-needs-your-help/